ST3.11 Quaternary stratigraphy and chronostratigraphy

Convener: Martin J. Head This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Co-Conveners: Jan A. Zalasiewicz, Colin N. Waters

The ICS Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS), and particularly its various constituent working groups, is tasked with advancing the formal subdivision of the Quaternary System/Period. In 2009, the base of the Quaternary was defined and the base of the Pleistocene Series was lowered, both coinciding with the base of the Gelasian Stage, dated at 2.58 Ma. In 2011, the Calabrian Stage was defined as the second stage of the Pleistocene, with a base at 1.80 Ma, this effectively completing the Lower Pleistocene Subseries. The Middle Pleistocene Subseries and its corresponding stage are currently under consideration within SQS, with a base at ~773 ka; and in 2018 the Holocene Series, ratified in 2008, was subdivided into the Greenlandian (11,700 yrs before 2000 CE [b2k]), Northgrippian (8236 yrs b2k), and Meghalayan (4250 yrs b2k) stages and their corresponding Lower, Middle, and Upper Holocene subseries. The Lower Pleistocene Subseries and the Anthropocene remain undefined although research on potential candidate GSSPs is in progress. In addition, the SQS is looking increasingly at the fine-scale division of the Quaternary. This session therefore welcomes all stratigraphic contributions with a chronostratigraphic dimension.